Science of Teaching and Learning Australia (SoTLA) is a non-for-profit organisation, established in 2022.

Michael has been a school leader since his first position as a principal of Pentland State School in 1996. In this time he has led primary, secondary, government and private schools and also worked internationally, establishing schools across South-East Asia. Michael achieved outstanding success as principal at Broadbeach State School on the Gold Coast by designing a school improvement process that focused on developing outstanding teachers. As a result of this success, over 30 local, national and international schools visited Broadbeach to learn from the systems and practice that was set up. Michael then took on a position as Executive Director of Schools with Good to Great Schools Australia (GGSA). In this position, he was responsible for directly leading and managing the Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Program to implement direct and explicit instruction through a coaching model.

Michael was one of only two principals chosen by the Federal Education Minister to serve on the Gonski 2 panel (2017-18). In 2020-21 he was the inaugural General Manager of Learning Difficulties Australia, where he promoted the Science of Learning to educators around Australia and a broadening of the membership base.

Michael is co-founder and currently Managing Director of Mastery Schools Australia, Executive Director of COGlearn and a board member of one private school and the newly formed Science of Teaching & Learning Australia. He has a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).

Dr Lorraine Hammond is an educator, academic and researcher from Edith Cowan University in WA. In 2021, Lorraine introduced the first unit on the Science of Reading in Australia as a part of ECU’s post graduate program, and she also offers a three-day short course version for teachers, administrators, speech pathologists and psychologists.

Lorraine works with schools across Australia taking up Explicit Instruction and regularly coaches teachers. She has published research on Explicit Instruction and its impact on students’ literacy outcomes and teacher knowledge. Lorraine also provides professional learning and instructional coaching for the Kimberley Schools Project for the Department of Education in Western Australia and the Canberra Goulburn Diocese of Catholic Education for Catalyst. In 2019 Lorraine received an Order of Australia for service to tertiary teaching and the community.

Dr Nicole Todd is a Senior Lecturer in Special and Inclusive Education at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). Her varied career in teaching, consulting and as an academic across Australia and overseas has been based on her passion for enhancing learning for students experiencing difficulties, particularly in the mainstream diverse classroom. For decades, she has assisted teachers (both practicing and pre-service) to meet the learning needs of their students through evidence-based practical instructional strategies. Her research interests include enhancing the role of support/inclusion teachers (working with students with additional learning needs in literacy and numeracy).

Stephanie Le Lievre the Principal of Serpentine Primary School in Perth, Western Australia. She is a Level 3 Classroom Teacher, instructional coach and former speech pathologist with considerable experience in leading evidence-based literacy instruction in low SES primary-schools. She has led large curriculum project groups consisting of a number of schools across Australia, Including The Syntax Project. Stephanie is the co-founder of the Reading Science in Schools Facebook community which has approximately 50 thousand Australian & New Zealand members, and has created a number of free guides, sequences and resources aligned to the Science of Reading. She has presented on literacy instruction at various national and international conferences and events.

Renae is an experienced educator with qualifications in both Primary and Secondary teaching. She holds a Master's degree in Inclusive Education and a Graduate Certificate in TESOL. Renae's career in education has been extensive, covering teaching and leadership roles in mainstream and alternative education settings. She has worked in various locations, including New South Wales, Queensland, and overseas.

Starting her role as an Education Consultant at AISNSW in 2017, Renae offers professional learning and consultancy services to schools on a wide range of topics and subjects. She is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the COVID Intensive Learning Support Program in the Independent Sector and manages various long-term initiatives, including the Primary Reading Project. With her diverse background, Renae brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her work, helping schools and educators enhance their inclusive and effective teaching practices.